More rent rises in Kildare

Only 99 residences to let in county says Peter McVerry Trust

HOUSE rents in county Kildare were on average 11.5% higher in the second quarter of 2017 than a year previously according to the latest quarterly Rental Report by Daft.ie.

The average advertised rent is now €1,156, up 65% from its lowest point.

Nationwide rents by an average of 11.8% in the year to June 2017, according to the latest quarterly Rental Report by Daft.ie.

The survey Daft.ie gives an average figure for the second quarter of this year, indications from Rental Tenancy Board figures from 2016, suggest that rents in Leixlip and Maynooth then were 11-12% higher than the county average, while further south, in Athy, are lower.

Daft.ie said the rate of inflation represents a slight slowdown in inflation from the rate recorded in the first quarter of 2017 (13.4%), which was the second largest on record.

In Dublin, the increase in rents in the year to June 2017 was 12.3% and rents in the capital are now over 18% higher than their previous peak in 2008, or €260 a month. There were just 2,930 properties available to rent nationwide on August 1. This is the lowest number ever recorded, in a series that starts in January 2006, and the first time ever that fewer than 3,000 homes were available to rent. In Dublin, there were just 1,100 homes available to rent, compared to 2,000 on the same date in 2014.

Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College, and author of the Daft Report, said: “The start of the academic year in September traditionally meant that July and August are two of the busiest months for the rental market each year. In the last two years, however, there has been no summer rush of properties to rent. In a market with such chronically deficient supply, it is therefore unsurprising to see rents reach a new high.

“While rent controls may help sitting tenants, they make the market even tougher for those looking for a new home. The rental market remains in severe distress due to a lack of supply and thus the appropriate policy response is to boost supply of all forms. This includes purpose-built student accommodation. Based on demographics and other factors, Dublin alone needs a block of 300 student beds approved every month until the late 2020s.”

Peter McVerry Trust, the national housing and homeless charity, called on the Government to fund the building of affordable rental housing, following the release of the report.

Pat Doyle, CEO at Peter McVerry Trust, said “The rental figures are deeply worrying and tell us that we will continue to see people who are unable to maintain or secure new rental accommodation ending up in homeless services. The rising cost of rent is the main source of new homeless cases, and our worry is that we will see even more households losing their homes as the situation worsens.”

“Unfortunately, rising rents also make our job of finding homes more difficult. At the moment we don’t have enough social housing so we are overly reliant on the private rental sector. If rents continue on their runaway path, and alternative affordable supply is not forthcoming, then we cannot secure homes for people to move out of homeless services.”

Mr Doyle said securing rental accommodation in Kildare was now extremely challenging. “Kildare remains one of the most expensive places to rent in Ireland and supply is very limited. Today there are just 99 residential properties to let in the entire county. According to the Daft.ie report the average rent in Kildare is now €1,156, an 11.5% annual increase. The cost of renting a one bed apartment rose 13% in the last year, which is the biggest jump in any property type.”

Mr Doyle said the solution is for the State to build affordable rental properties. “The critical issue is affordable supply. At the present time developers cannot build affordable housing and we shouldn’t rely on business to meet housing needs, therefore the State must step in. Peter McVerry Trust would urge the Government to instruct and resource Councils to begin building affordable rental accommodation. We have recommended this as a core measure in our submission to the review on Rebuilding Ireland as affordable housing is an area of enormous need.”

“There is a growing number of people who are stuck in a very precarious situation and are vulnerable in an increasingly expensive private market. These are households that earn too much to qualify for traditional social housing, but not enough to buy a home. Unfortunately, that group is growing quickly as the cost or renting and buying a home is rising very fast.”

“The cheapest, most effective way to build affordable rental accommodation is for Councils to use small sites to begin creating affordable rental blocks, purpose built to meet the needs of people who are renting and cannot afford private rates. This would provide an alternative outlet for renters and lessen both the reliance and pressure on the private market.”

This website and its associated newspaper are full participating members of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. This scheme in addition to defending the freedom of the press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie or www.presscouncil.ie Leinster Leader provides news, events and sport features from the Kildare area. For the best up to date information relating to Kildare and the surrounding areas visit us at Leinster Leaderregularly or bookmark this page.